“These are dangerous times. Never have so many people had so much access to so much knowledge and yet have been so resistant to learning anything.”
– Tom Nichols “The Death of Expertise”
It has permeated the zeitgeist like perhaps nothing ever has before. Its popularity has galvanized the social media populace to the point that many refuse to even log on for days in the hopes of avoiding it at all costs. It has infuriated half of those that come across it while the other half hangs on its every utterance. Its contentiousness has split people apart to a level of antagonism that seemingly leaves no room for forgiveness. No I’m not talking about Donald Trump’s Twitter account, I’m speaking of the cultural phenomenon known as Game Of Thrones.
Since its debut at the turn of the decade, Game of Thrones’ popularity has rivaled TV monsters such as “M*A*S*H”, “The Sopranos” and “Seinfeld”. All in an age where Television has quickly fallen down the food chain as a main source of entertainment media. 19.3 million viewers took in last Sunday’s series finale, beating the show’s own personal record of 18.4 million set the week before. However, even with its vast popularity, unlike “M*A*S*H”, “The Sopranos” and “Seinfeld”, Game of Thrones still seems to hold a cult status. It appears to fall into a category such as Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Star Wars when it comes to an isolated sectarian following despite its mega hit status. Although Game of Thrones’ viewing audience numbers approach those of M*A*S*H, The Sopranos and Seinfeld, the show doesn’t seem to hold the sort of event status that everyone feels a part of that those other shows held in the era that they aired. Perhaps this is due to the sci fi\fantasy genre that it belongs to, even though its intense melodrama and soap opera narrative far surpasses the more conservative, gentler and stiff upper lipped vibe of Star Trek or Lord of the Rings. If Star Trek is a pretentious Wasp wedding held in a flower garden near a premium golf course on a sunny Saturday in June, Game of Thrones would be the Greek-Italian wedding with families who hate each other held at a reception hall where two other weddings are taking place on a rainy night in the middle of November. With an open bar. It’s just one dirty look away from it turning into a certain infamous wedding ceremony we once witnessed back in Season 3.
But the cause of the antagonism and partisanship that surrounds Game of Thrones is not only due to its fantasy genre, which the “cool” people usually dismiss as a show that is only being watched by the nerd herd. I believe that social media plays an even bigger role in the chasm that seems to have formed between those who watch it and those who don’t. As a platform where the most unknown person on the fringe of society could go viral at any given moment for even accidentally saying something clever, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have manifested a new kind of opinion in the wake of the fervor that encompasses this franchise; the opinion of the non-opinion.
Since the beginning of Game of Thrones’ farewell season some six weeks ago, a brand new form of pushback has evolved in the trolling memes being posted by the GOT unacquainted. I call it the declaration of abstinence. Yes, suddenly, people all over the world have decided that Game of Thrones’ adoration has become so unpalatable, that they will walk through hell in a gasoline suit just to make sure that the world knows that they haven’t watched a single episode. Not an admittance that they watched the first two episodes of Season 1 and just couldn’t stomach it mind you. No. They have felt the inescapable urge to take pride in letting you know that they haven’t even taken a second to gaze upon Peter Dinklage’s handsome face. Why is this happening?
This man is handsome.
I’ve never understood some people’s need on social media to tell you what they DON’T participate in or what they DON’T care about. Revealing to the world that you’ve NEVER watched Game of Thrones is not a hot take, it’s not an opinion, and it doesn’t distinguish one in any interesting way from the pack. Completely refraining from taking part in something and then somehow feeling unique because of it, seems to be a path that has become very attractive to some social media users. In conveying a contrarian position without any form of educated critique attached, they seem to inhibit the expansion of their mind, their capacity for experience and the formation of a potentially interesting sentiment. Tell me, if you really don’t care about something, why would you take the time out of your day to tell us about it? I do not give a single shit about K-Pop, yet I’ve never felt compelled to tell everyone about it. Primarily because, well, I don’t care about it, but mostly because I haven’t really looked into it yet, so I don’t know anything about it. Maybe I would care if I did, but for now, I don’t, so I have nothing tangible to say. I can’t help but wonder if these strongly held non-notions simply stem from some sort of irrational anger brought about by the feeling of missing out on or being left out of something that a significant portion of the culture thinks is awesome. I often hear similar expressions about baseball, but at least the majority of those who communicate their disdain for the sport have attempted to watch it, or have even been to a game. This is a disturbing and I would dare say almost desperate attempt by those who fear they may have nothing to offer, garner a few “likes” that lead to a feeling of validation based on nothing more than an empty declaration with no foundation. The fact is, every one of us has something to offer, trivially going against the grain because you think it’s your only shot at a bit of attention is lazy, and also a cop out from taking the time to form an informed point of view. Besides, not watching Game of Thrones isn’t an anomaly, the vast majority of people in the world have never watched Game of Thrones or even heard of it for that matter. So essentially, those who take on this antagonistic stance are truthfully just blending in.
This figure is incredibly inaccurate.
I know what you’re asking yourself. Why the hell would this guy care so much about a group of people expressing themselves about how much they don’t care about a silly dragon show? Isn’t it a little hypocritical to contradict a non-entity with a concrete objection? Or does this uber nerd love Game of Thrones so much that he’s lost his mind? It’s very simple. It actually has nothing to do with Game of Thrones at all. I wouldn’t even qualify myself as a fan. But I do believe that this newfound trend of communicating one’s indifference to a certain subject in the guise of a legitimate position is one small step closer to what Harvard professor Tom Nichols calls the “Death of Expertise”. A movement towards sweeping judgments and observations based solely on emotions and wide ranging assumptions with no basis in fact or experience. It’s a scary notion to contemplate that we are headed toward an era where opinions are formed through preconceived attitudes and confirmation bias. Think Game of Thrones sucks? Or anything sucks for that matter? Well tell us why. But make sure that your position is rooted in a place of firsthand knowledge. I’ll take an insightful hater backed up with the facts over a lackadaisical devil’s advocate steeped in ignorance any day of the week.
Oh, and what did I think of the final season? Hmmm…perhaps I’ll save that one for my next installment of The Third Culture. There’s a lot to unpack there, and Melnick loses his shit whenever I exceed 1500 words.
